Something to do

A long, long, long time ago Mr. Aitch had gifted me an origami kit as I was obsessed with this cool art form using a sheet of paper.  This kit included a great booklet that showed the basics of paper folding.  The last project in the booklet was the flapping bird. This is different than the famous crane.  The crane is a stationary object and the flapping bird can move.  I still have the original kit but loaned the booklet to a friend…and never got it back.

Last October I taught one of the twins how to make an origami flapping bird as she had learned how to make some shapes. We made several birds and she got quite good at it.  So I emailed her yesterday with a suggestion of something to do every day during this unusual period in our lives.Email to granddaughter

This is the flapping bird.

You can see that by holding it at the base of the neck and pulling on the tail…

…the wings move.origami, flapping bird

Here is a short video of the flapping bird in action.

There are several videos and written instructions on the interwebs that you can find but I made my own instructions based on how I learned how to make it.  If you are interested, click here.  Warning, you will need some basic knowledge of origami folds that I do not provide.

New knitting tool









Have you taken something unusual and made it fit your needs?


I’m bored

With many schools closed for a few weeks, children will get bored.  I know my grandchildren will be home for an unexpected vacation from schoolwork though some will have access to remote teaching, online classes or whatever the counties/school districts are calling it.  Not all children can think of something constructive to do with their newfound “free time.”

I’ve come up with some ideas for my grands when the “I’m bored” statements happen to escape their mouths.  None of these suggestions include looking at a screen and most of them can be done alone.

This list includes:

1. Paint nails or do nail art on your toes.  Acrylic paint will work for nail art as long as a clear coat of polish covers it.
2. Clean the top of your dresser.
3. Clean under your bed.
4. Make a bracelet.
5. Make your bed.
6. Write a note to someone you haven’t seen for a while.  Friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents.
7. Make a card…birthday, holiday, get well, thinking of you.
8. Practice a new language such as sign language or Spanish.
9. Walk 1,000 steps.
10. Do 30 jumping jacks.
11. Do 30 sit-ups.
12. Write in a dedicated notebook or journal about gratitude.
13. Relax with a cup of tea or hot chocolate.
14. Paint or draw a self-portrait.
15. Color a picture.
16. Write a book report about the last book you read.
17. Ride your bike/scooter.
18. Draw on the driveway with chalk.  Ask Mom or Dad first.
19. Pull weeds from a flower bed or garden plot.
20. Play hopscotch.
21. Jump rope 100 jumps.
22. Make a paper chain to count the days till an upcoming event: party, birthday, special trip, last day of school, vacation.
23. Clean your bathtub or bathroom sink area.
24. Learn how to sew a zipper pouch.
25. Knit a scarf, hat, mitts.
26. Work on a jigsaw puzzle.
27. Play a board game.
28. Build a Lego house or castle.
29. Learn a new origami figure or teach someone how to make one.
30. Measure something: the back porch, your bedroom, or any room or furniture in your house.

I’m sure you can think of other activities as well.  Do you have a game plan for “I’m bored?”

What-not bags

In my never-ending quest to reduce the junk, I mean stuff in my house, I decided (at the last minute) to make 25-30 small bags to donate to my church for an upcoming fundraising tea and luncheon. These bags can be used for craft projects, cosmetics, pens, pencils, crayons, baby supplies, gift bags….

Box bags are too time-consuming so I’m sewing another bag similar to the ones shown at the bottom of this post.

Using some new as well as vintage fabrics from iPad aunt’s and my M-I-L’s fabric stash along with zippers from my stash, I hope to be finished with this project by the end of the week.

Cutting the outer fabric, lining fabric and fleece interfacing takes a lot longer than one might expect.

I also have the bags broken down by thread color so I can set up an assembly line and whip through them quicker.

So that’s what I’ve been doing lately.  Any last-minute projects taking up your time?